GoGoBoy

I would personally be very interested in finding out just how much Sunway has benefited from their Australian investment (Wonderland). I strongly believe that even if Wonderland was losing massive amounts of money each year (a claim which is hard to believe), Sunway has still made an overall profit from various land parcel sales. I would be very interested to see if anyone can challenge this point. One of the comments Sunway makes in the article above is "the group could look forward to reaping good return on investment (ROI) from its investment Down Under". I am not sure whether they are referring to their investment so far or their possible future investment in the re-development of the remaining land. From what I can find, Sunway has not actually released any official information on whether the company has overall made or lost money in Australia. I'm guessing they've made a nice profit unfortunately but I'd like to get the true facts

The Sydney Morning Herald also recently pointed out the fact that Harry Seidler had a plan in the 1960's to build a number of massive multi-storey office buildings all over the land where Luna Park currently stands. Despite this he is furious about plans for a 14 storey office block recently proposed for the Luna Park clifftop. He was recently quoted as saying that the supporters of the development are "the lowest forms of human life". Richard, I would be very interested to read the article. Is there any way that you can copy it onto this site?

I would certainly agree with that last point Richard. I think as long as a new attraction complements the existing themed area and makes some effort to fit in then that's fine. With Cylcone, although it may not be perfect, as you said it works well enough. It's certainly not as odd a match as the Tower of Terror in Gum Tree Gully for example. So in summary, if Dreamworld's new ride is themed as a giant power tool or something else totally out of context then I will be disappointed. If, however, there is some kind of link (even if slightly vague) between the theme of the ride and it's corresponding area then it could work fine

I am fairly sure that Neil Balnaves is involved with Dreamworld on a number of levels other than just financial. As an example, here is an extract from an article on the Macquarie Leisure website - 'Mr Balnaves was active in securing Big Brother for Dreamworld three years ago, making the Australian franchise the only one in the world with a theme park setting. (Edit) "I suppose with my experience, I've come to see how theme parks work and how TV works; and I've seen how they can work together." While I do agree that his role would not be to focus on the day to day operations of Dreamworld, he obviously does play a part in the various aspects of researching and installing new attractions. He would be a wasted resource otherwise. I would imagine that when it comes to major new projects it would and should be a collaborative effort between a number of people involved with the park. I don't think the whole creative process would work as well if it was just left up to the staff in the admin office (ofcourse, this does depend on who they have working for them). Also, it is my experience that when it comes to creative work such as graphic design and concepts, most theme parks outsource to individuals and other companies to assist. No theme park I have been involved with has ever had their own in-house graphic design/creative team (besides maybe someone that knows how to update the website). However, they all have their own marketing managers, assistants and associated administrative staff. In my experience, most of these staff normally do not have large degrees of creative experience or expertise. Regarding the new ride name and Ocean Parade theming - I do agree that Dreamworld has always had inconsistent theming. I would never argue that point. That doesn't mean that I think it's a good thing though which is why I was saying it would be crazy to give the ride a totally unrelated name. It would not surprise me however. On the point of Cyclone - I actually think it fits in quite okay with the ocean theming. Afterall, you do often find Cyclones in coastal areas and the storm usually comes from out at sea. I'll agree it's a little sketchy, but I still think it works

It would be crazy to call the thing 'Cliff Hanger' for 2 reasons - 1. There is already a portable flat ride called Cliff Hanger which was heavily advertised as one of the new attractions at this years Easter Show. I assume it will now be travelling around the country 2. It doesn't really have anything to do with the Ocean Parade theme and from the pictures I have seen of the construction area there is no denying the new attraction is part of Ocean Parade I'm sure Neil Balnaves (Maquarie Leisure director) will have some better ideas up his sleeve. He is the theme park man so they should leave it up to him rather than letting DW's management do an in-house job of it

Does the Huss Giant Frisbee have a higher swinging angle than the Intamin Gyro Swing? That 2nd picture of the Frisbee is great and I have never seen any pics of a Gyro Swing at that same amazing angle. I hope it does otherwise I'd prefer the Frisbee for both looks and riding enjoyment

It's good to see an actual pic of the big hole/circle thing underneath the ride. Now we can finally be quite sure of the reason they are digging that hole at Dreamworld

Haha that's funny. The whole website makes it look very early 1970's. Interesting to see that the site apparantley hasn't been updated since 1998/99 as it is. Even the illustration of the martian looks 70's. The waterslides also look kinda dirty and mouldy. Those pictures were taken years ago so imagine how it looks now

If they did end up doing that their timing couldn't be worse. Wouldn't it be best to do something like that when it corresponds with the opening of the 2nd movie, rather than waiting for all the hype to die down?! I'm sure Movie World would have thought of that

I can't believe this is happening again. It's just crazy. If the residents get their way again it could spell the end of the amusements at Luna Park for the last time. Here's hoping nothing comes of it. Everybody (including the government and local councils) wanted to see Luna Park return as an amusement park so it would just be a joke if they allow it to close down again. It is highly likely that at least the Ranger and Spider will be removed. I'm sure the owners won't mind being forced to have a few less rides so they can concentrate on the functions. I always personally thought those 2 rides were located in a strange spot though (as I mentioned in my original Luna Park trip report)

Could it be Crusader?

The following is a Wonderland related extract from one of Suncity's (Sunway's) latest news clippings. Feel free to discuss. The full article can be found on their website at www.sunway.com.my 'Having disposed of 60ha of its Wonderland Sydney theme park in New South Wales, Australia, for A$52.5mil in February, it still has another 120ha of prime land available there. SunCity has a 60% stake in the property. “Depending on the value, we can either dispose of the remaining parcel to realise our Australian investment or go into a joint venture with the right partner to undertake development of the land,” he added. Wang said the group could look forward to reaping good return on investment (ROI) from its investment Down Under as the strong Australian dollar would translate into good foreign exchange gains. The group's Australia-based indirect unit, International Theme Park Pty Ltd, has announced that it would be closing the Wonderland Sydney theme park by the middle of this year at the latest. The decision to close the park was taken due to persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions. It is also part of the group’s overall rationalisation exercise to exit from non-performing businesses. Analysts said SunCity's decision to cease operation of the theme park would save RM20mil a year for the company from losses and interest savings. The remaining land in Sydney was estimated to be worth A$40mil, they added.'

Richard I have a feeling you are being cautious about what you say regarding the new attraction. Is that why you haven't really answered my questions? Do you have a few secret details and ride specifics up your sleeve or are you just not wanting to speculate too much?

Thanks for the great and frequent updates Richard. Just a couple of questions for you - Do you know what the big hole in the centre is going to be for? Do you think the new attraction will be considered part of Ocean Parade or Main Street? The area which has been cleared is quite a substantial size. On another note, I have noticed (from all recent pics) that Dreamworld is looking really good overall. Lots of extra theming and plenty of bright, fresh paint

Yeah I'm not planning on visiting the park anytime soon... just wondering out of interest whether or not all of the effects in the final splashdown room have been repaired/fixed. It's one of my pet peeves when theme parks don't upkeep rides to their original standard including ALL effects

No one has answered my question yet so thought I would add another post to bring this topic forward. Surely one of you has been to Movie World recently and knows the state of this ride? What about you guys that work for Warner Village?

Haha... it would have to be creamier - 3 syllables. How about Challenger

I agree it does seem strange to put the big wheel in Melbourne. Same with the $700m waterpark they have planned for Melb. Bring it all to Sydney I say!

The idea of Steve Irwin setting up a theme park that is Australia's equivalent of Disneyland is quite a concern. I imagine we'd end up with another Leyland Brothers-style failed park on our hands

It's just a shame that this all worked out so well for Sunway and that the land became so valuable. If that stupid orbital wasn't being built out there Sunway may have had a much harder time. I hope a lesson everyone learns from this is that our theme parks need to be protected. If a similar situation occurs at one of our Gold Coast parks there needs to be a much bigger uproar. I just hope a similar situation never arises. We already know that the land surrounding Dreamworld has become very valuable for reasons other than leisure. I just hope the fact that the Gold Coast is considered Australia's 'theme park capital' is enough to protect the parks

So what's the status of this ride now? Have the effects in the final splashdown room been fixed? Does the barrel still expand? Does smoke and wind still push you out of the top? I hope so as those were some of the best bits. Truly an amazing ride but it needs all elements working for it to be the same. Are there any obvious signs of fire or smoke damage?

Shifty I can't believe you are saying Wonderland was the 2nd best park with the best theming. No way. It was all done very basically. If we're going to talk about theming, Movie World would have to have the best by far... the park has spent bucket loads of cash on theming alone. Also Dreamworld's theming is definitely better than Wonderlands... especially when you take Ocean Parade and Nick Central into consideration. By the way, there are way too many of these 'best ride, best park, what do you prefer' posts open at the moment. Please give it a rest for a while Scott!

What if one was to move to somewhere around Surfers Paradise and work at MW/WNW/DW? If you have your own transport would it really be too far to drive out there every day?

Funny you should mention that Daniel as I've just been messaging joz about it... trying to get some tips from the man on the coast. Anyone wanna share a GC apartment with me? I know Stephen Galbraith brought Michael Croaker with him from Sea World. Michael was one of the show presenters at Sea World and became the entertainment manager at Wonderland. I think he actually wrote the Quest for the Golden Seal show before he left. That's a perfect example of someone starting at the bottom and working their way up just through experience

How much of the old rapids slide did they use in the conversion of Terror Canyon 2? Judging by the maps it looks like they used exactly the same slide but just put a roof over it to convert it into a tunnel. Does TC2 have all the pyrotechnic effects that TC1 has? Does TC1 even still have these effects? I hope it does but you know what tends to happens when rides become a few years old... stuff breaks and it often doesn't get fixed unfortunately. That's one thing I'd like to see more of at WnW - enclosed tube slides. I think they should build a massive tower with a whole selection of them snaking around. Really long ones that give a great rider experience